The news that Terry Bogard has joined Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has triggered some rather polarising responses from Nintendo fans.
For gamers of a certain vintage, Bogard's name is synonymous with SNK's superb lineage of one-on-one fighting games, stretching all the way back to 1991's Fatal Fury: King of Fighters (not to be confused with The King of Fighters, a series which would spin-off from Fatal Fury a few years later).
However, we were struck by the number of people on social networks we witnessed who seemed to have absolutely no idea who this cap-wearing pugilist was; it was at this point that we suddenly felt very, very old.
Here's just a couple of the best (read: worst) tweets we saw:
Keen to right this wrong, we decided it might be a nice idea to detail the background and history of this iconic (but perhaps not as iconic as we originally suspected) fighting game legend.
A Street Fighting Man
Terry Bogard's first appearance was in 1991's Fatal Fury (known in Japan as "Garou Densetsu", or "Legend of the Hungry Wolf"), alongside (even less famous) sibling, Andy. Fatal Fury was SNK's attempt to muscle in on the popularity of Street Fighter II, and was actually brainstormed by none other than Takashi Nishiyama, who created the original Street Fighter in 1987 when working at Capcom. It is Nishiyama who came up with the "Hadouken" fireball – a projectile special move which has arguably become a mainstay of the fighting game genre.
Fatal Fury used the power of the Neo Geo arcade system to deliver visuals that were arguably on par with those of Street Fighter II, but by only offering three playable fighters – Terry, Andy and Joe Higashi – it had limited appeal when compared to Capcom's title. A novel gimmick was the ability to switch between two rows of movement, a feature which would be comprehensively tinkered with over the course of the series.
In Fatal Fury, Terry enters the King of Fighters tournament to avenge the death of his father at the hands of the hilariously-named Geese Howard. His striking look – red cap, jeans, red jacket and sneakers – was laid down here, although in Fatal Fury 2 he would adopt what has become his true trademark style, with the arms of his jacket torn off. Back in the early '90s, Terry was unquestionably one of the coolest-looking fighting game characters around, and this became a massive part of the Fatal Fury series' appeal.
Road to the Final Victory
Outside of the first two Fatal Fury games, Terry would also star in Fatal Fury Special (an updated version of the sequel, showcasing the fact that SNK, like Capcom, wasn't above milking its arcade titles) and Fatal Fury 3: Road to the Final Victory. While the third game expanded the two-row system to a three-row playfield, it wasn't as successful as Capcom's fighting games of the period, which forced SNK to double-down with the follow-up, Real Bout Fatal Fury. With its bold and colourful visuals, simplified controls and improved combat mechanics, the Real Bout sub-series restored Fatal Fury's popularity in both arcades and at home, and spawned two sequels – Real Bout Fatal Fury Special and Real Bout Fatal Fury 2: The Newcomers.
The latter was released in 1998, a point in time when 2D fighters were beginning to lose their appeal in arcades and 3D gaming was all the rage at home. Against this shifting backdrop, SNK produced what many consider to be its best fighting game, and the conclusion of the Fatal Fury series. Garou: Mark of the Wolves launched in 1999 and, for the first time in the franchise, dramatically changed Terry's appearance.
Set ten years after the death of Geese Howard, the game sees a much older Bogard – minus his cap and wearing boots and a leather jacket – living up to the responsibilities of looking after Rock Howard, Geese's orphaned son. While Terry remains a key focal point in the game, Rock is essentially the main character and combines Terry and Geese's styles in his special moves.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves is effectively the conclusion of the Fatal Fury series at the time of writing, and while a sequel was planned, it never actually saw release. Outside of the mainline games, Terry also starred in spin-offs like Fatal Fury: 1st Contact on the Neo Geo Pocket Color, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition on the Hyper Neo Geo 64 arcade system and Real Bout Garou Densetsu Special: Dominated Mind on the PlayStation.
A King of Fighters… and beyond
As one of SNK's most popular characters, it's unsurprising that Terry Bogard has found himself in multiple spin-off titles over the years, the most notable being The King of Fighters franchise.
He made up one-third of the Fatal Fury team in the series debut, The King of Fighters '94, and has been an ever-present in every single entry since then. Indeed, you could argue that King of Fighters is where many modern players will have experienced Terry first, and the enduring popularity of the franchise will certainly have helped increase his fame over the decades. Alongside the likes of Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, Terry is one of the most popular 'mains' in the entire franchise.
Terry has also featured in crossover titles like the Capcom vs. SNK sub-series (which also includes the excellent 'Card Fighters' games) and Neo Geo Battle Coliseum, as well as Fighting EX Layer, created by Akira, the company founded by none other than Street Fighter II designer Akira Nishitani. Outside of fighting games, he's appeared in the shooter KOF: Sky Stage, dating sim Days of Memories, otome title King of Fighters for Girls, a pachinko game based on King of Fighters and the music title spin-off The Rhythm of Fighters.
Terry has recently starred in a high-profile Switch release, but you'd be forgiven for not realising it if you're not a keen follower of his body of work. In SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, Terry is gender-swapped to fit in with the cast of exclusively female fighters – his cap even says "Fatal Cutie" instead of Fatal Fury. Ahem.
Which leads us neatly to the present, and Smash Bros. Ultimate. While some fans have questioned why Terry is being included in the game (and some even ponder who the devil he is), to us, he's a worthy addition.
Just like Street Fighter's Ryu, Terry Bogard is one of the elder statesmen of the fighting game genre; hopefully, by making the leap into Smash Bros. Ultimate, he can find a whole new audience that perhaps even eclipses the one he enjoyed during his peak in the 1990s.
Have you had a go with Terry yet? What do you make of his moves? Let us know with a comment below.
Comments (190)
Imagine living in a timeline where you have to explain who Terry Bogard is.
Also worth noting the popularity of ignorance on social media. People trashing something they don't know getting an article written about them.
I like really like Terry's design to be honest despite him being similar to ken.
@Paraka I knew his face but not his name, never played any of his games.
@Paraka We're in the timeline
If you don't know who Terry is you have gotta be relatively young or you were never into the gaming/arcade scene. The SNK arcade machines were king back in the 90's arcades.
If you don't know who Terry Bogard is you have no business gaming.
Now where's the new Samurai Shodown for Switch?
Terry Bogard is basically one of the most famous fighters from the "King of Fighters" games from back in the day. Personally I would have gone with Mai Shirinui.. though there are two reasons why Nintendo wouldn't pick Mai & most SNK fans know what they are.
what the crap?? a street fighter random fighter.
Never knew till yesterday.
If you don't know who Terry Bogard is as a gamer, and you're over the age of 25, I have little to no respect for you.
@SuperWeird That's a bit harsh! Not everyone had a chance to play at the arcades, sadly.
I'm glad he made it in though, it's clear he has a rich history.
Kids today 😒, I remember going into my local video store and playing the arcade game on a weekly basis. Such a great game and I have a few variations on Switch, I'll have to have a go tonight with my new arcade stick 😁
@Kalmaro - Pretty sure he was being facetious.
@DanteSolablood - I didn't even have to read beyond "Mai" to know that would never happen and why.
@JayJ - One can even argue KoF is the reason fighting games in pro gaming are so huge now, in spite of never being back.
@ShinyUmbreon To be fair there was a game released on a handheld called the NeoGeo Pocket Color called Capcom Vs SNK: Match of the Millenium which teamed up SNK with Streetfighter characters.. it was one of the best fighting games ever released on handheld.
Shame the handheld bombed.
@Paraka Perhaps! Just kinda unfair for people to act superior because they were born earlier or got to go to the arcade. Just seems kinda silly.
@Kalmaro - Perhaps. But it's similar to what I said about how many people are ragging on him for not knowing him in the first post.
@Damo
I'm glad they picked a semi-obscure character more casual modern Nintendo fans wouldn't know about. After getting Hero and Banjo, I'm satisfied with the fighter pass and would like to be surprised by more obscure characters. Smash is a great way to give lesser known franchises attention and get more people into them. Hope they include a few gender swap skins as well, prefer Terry as a woman.
None of the extra fighters are interesting so far, except for Banjo-Kazooie...
Oki call me stupid or a dead somthing i never heard or play that..
You need to make an article explaining who Terry Bogard is?
Well that may explain why they are going banananas for a dang outfit -_-
I can't believe people don't know. Fatal Fury was cool because it had a front and back fighting mechanic. I still have my copy of 2 for SNES.
@Spudtendo just because some annoying kids don’t know him doesn’t mean he is “obscure”. It means they are ignorants.
I'm hoping they keep his eng-rish voice. It's just nostalgic for us 25+ year old gamers. are U oh-kaay BUSTAH WOOOLLFUH!
well I don't beacuse i only play mario games when i was young lmao never heard of that name.. so yea im not a stupid hater im just confused
@Spudtendo - If anything it will be his brother, Rock. Fem Terry was a one-off gimmick in a single game that oddly enough, his story in rectifies him (and Iori) to return to their normal status.
So odds are not likely.
King of Fighters was Snks version of Smash Bros (bringing their popular fighting franchises into one game) hence why there is KoF 94 - 2003 or so.
At least in Mexico, it was WAY HUGE! Like in the arcades, we would play KoF more than Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter.
As you can tell I'm way Stoked! I'm still hoping my girl Kula Diamond is somehow in the game (either background or Mii costume)
If you don’t know who Terry is, his games are in arcade archives on the eshop.
Try some.
Thanks for the history lesson. I don't play a lot of fighting games, just Soulcalibur and Smash Bros. I'm glad to be able to play a seasoned veteran of a fighting character in Smash Bros.
It was a little saddening to see people react this way to such a legendary character, but that's youth for you. And it's not like he's not in modern games too (the latest KOF is on PS4 and all) so the complaints were weird.
Terry and Mai have always been my favorite fighting game characters, and while I would have preferred the latter, Terry does make a lot of sense.
To me, he's the most exciting DLC character thus far and is enough for me to start playing Smash with some regularity when he comes out.
Here's hoping Fatal Cutie is an alternate skin...
I knew he was from Street Fighter competition, King of Fighters or similar. Other than that he looks like Ken in street clothes to me.
I was hoping it would be a Metal Slug character, but I guess this makes more sense.
Still not a single DLC character I particularly care about. Wake me up when they announce Doomguy.
You don’t know Terry.
Are you ok
It makes sense that they would include someone from an SNK fighting game. I mainly know Terry from watching other people play those games in the arcades. I think they should include more down the line.
I thought the Terry reveal was the best so far. So clever and it really captured spirit of those cutscenes in SNK games.
It's good to have a pick like Terry - bringing "history" or even "culture" to gaming is much needed (given that the hobby is still fighting off a lot of stigmas).
Otherwise, yeah, ya can't expect the younger generation to know who this is. Everybody's too conditioned to follow only the franchises (and people) with clout and money behind them — in the same way and for the same social reasons that people follow sports.
It's hard to express my amount of not-care for this character... But I'm glad some people are happy lol
Undertale fans proving once again that they are, in fact, the worst.
This character!!!! I was always a fan of him just like ryu and ken.
You will always have some children complain or cry about the choice they make. There will be more characters as promised, but mannnnn this season characters are the bomb!
Love all of them.
"Throwing money at Nintendo"
I'm so sad that this article had to be created. I remember when folks were yelling "Hey! Come on, come on!" at each other before heading to the arcade for some fatal fury action.
It does seem odd though that fans of what they consider a fighting game (party brawler) don’t know major fighting game characters. Even if you don’t remember fatal fury there is always garou or kof.
@Madden87 - I think a lot of that is being facetious. It's a bizarre sign of the time when you're an aged older gamer not being asked, but ridiculed of the memories of someone the new generation doesn't know.
As others say, it's weird to witness someone about 25+ years completely space out who Terry is. KoF had a huuuuge role on the fighting games of the time. A lot resonate to today.
In a way, it feels like an inside joke to me, to watch others have the same reaction as I did about people looking at Terry and going, "Who's this nobody nobody likes?"
That's just a grown up RED from the Pokemon Games.
Street Fighter's Dan is a parody of Ryo from Art of Fighting.
but honestly it's been long enough that Street Fighter Alpha is an obscure title with all the SF4/5 stuff
@DK-Fan
Why are they annoying because they don't know who Terry is? Fatal Fury hasn't exactly been big in a long time, and it was always second to Street Fighter popularity-wise. Outside of the hardcore fighting game fans or older gamers, Fatal Fury hasn't been talked about much since I was a kid. No need to insult folks. I agree that these kids on Twitter acting like Terry isn't a big deal because they don't know him are annoying, but there's no need to stoop to their level.
@SuperWeird December 12th for Japan, I'm sure they will announce the western date soon.
@Madden87 To be fair, all the people saying "who the hell is Terry Bogard, he's so random" are equally pretentious/ignorant.
Terry is a big deal and possibly the reason we have smash bros as a franchise since it was Daddy Sakurai's inspiration.
@Ttimer5 - Kula was evil, man. It is also weird I resonated with the poster boy for a fighting game franchise (usually someone bizarre like E. Honda or Blanka), but loved the whole streetwise style at the time.
Man, they're really scraping the bottom of the barrel now.
(I'm just joking for anyone that can't sense sarcasm).
@DanteSolablood There were more snk vs capcom games than just the handheld one
People need to play the KoF seies and especially Garou
"Come on! Get serious!"
I'm not well-versed in Fatal Fury or KoF but I remember him from the Capcom and SNK crossover games (my friends and I played Capcom vs. SNK 2 quite a lot when that was on PS2). I'm not his biggest fan but it's still neat that he made it in.
Thing is, he's still in plenty of games to this day... fighting games, mind you. It boggles the mind to think that there's this many Smash followers who have never heard of the illustrious King of Fighters franchise at this point.
Eh, whatever, get off my lawn, etc.
I'm too young to have played Fatal Fury. As a result, I hadn't heard of Terry Bogard, although the face was familiar. I don't know why.
@Yorumi - In a way, Steet Fighter was essentially the Fortnite of fighting games. Their popularity spurned the biggest growth of arcade genres ever seen. And one of the largest conventions focused on one genre; EVO.
Where Fatal Fury is the H1Z1 of the genre. Would have never made the genre popular enough to have Street Fighter come in and take it to a whole new level.
Smash will be his 20th appearance in a game on Switch... That has to be a record!
unreal that gamers don't know who Terry is...
Seriously guys, this is supposed to be good that he's in Smash.
All I'm seeing are people getting mad for not knowing who he is.
@Paraka exactly, ha ha, I love the name as well. It always made me laugh, sounds like the name of someone who play in the Thursday night dart league
@Savino - Don't start that, it'll show my age and this will get into a whole reminiscing session.
I mean, I'd have preferred Kyo, but the complaining would have been 7000 times worse had he been the one chosen.
He doesn't even have a female alt for people to latch on to (no, Cosplay Kyoko doesn't count).
I always liked fatal fury and think it’s cool terry is getting in the game. Although I still think Bonk should make it in and am surprised more people don’t think so!
I feel like a 20 y/o boomer for knowing this character.
I can understand the younger generation not knowing who Bogard is, I get that. But it ain’t just them who don’t him. Probably people who grew up playing nothing but Nintendo games other than the usual third party games. Castlevania, Monster Hunter, and some JRPG’s. Well, I think every Fatal Fury and King of Fighters game on Neo Geo is on Switch now. You guys should check out Mark of the Wolves.
@Paraka One of the worst things about social media is that it gives randos the false belief that their opinions matter just because they have a pulse. Not a big deal when the topic is video games, but it becomes an issue with weightier matters.
Look, folks, not all of us were big into arcade games a quarter of a century ago. SNK and KoF have been ultra-niche for decades now (at least in the States), so it should be no surprise that so many people have no idea who this character is.
I've seen the design and heard the name before, but I've never played any of the games he featured in, and I've certainly never seen almost any of the other characters that featured in that trailer.
Honestly, the only game I’ve played is Garou and it’s one of my favourite fighting games ever. I definitely think Terry deserves his place, he’s an icon of 90s fighting games and Smash is supposed to be a celebration of gaming culture. To people complaining about never having heard of him, had you heard of Mr Game and Watch outside of Smash? He’s not the most obscure character in there.
I’m laughing uncontrollably like Skeletor at all the people complaining or not knowing who Terry is. I’ll just crank “Oh Angel” even louder!
It was a surprise to me. But I'm definitely familiar with Terry, that's the dude right there. My first snk game I played was on snes. Fatal Fury Special was one of my favorites. Terry and Ryu was one of my main teams in Cap vs Snk. Patiently waiting to check him out in Smash.
Edit:
Still would like the inclusion of Ryu Hayabusa though...
Imagine me going to school today being super hyped about Terry (I'm a huge kof fan) and all my friends being like who the f##k is Terry.
I’ve never played any of his games, but I know who he is. Still would have preferred someone else, a non-fighting game hero like the dude from Metal Slug. I feel like that has more scope to mix things up in Smash.
There's a lot of gaming gatekeeping going on in here.
Yeah. There's not a lot of people who know about this Street Fighter wannabe. Honestly, he looks like a boring choice, but at least he isn't another weeb sword character.
Have to admit, I didn't know who Terry was before playing Capcom vs SNK on Dreamcast. It was my first step into a much larger world. Hopefully his inclusion in Smash has the same effect on many others.
Also, if you don't know who Terry is, get these games on e-shop:
Real Bout Fatal Fury Special
Gauro: Mark of the Wolves
And get these on GOG.com:
King of Fighters 13
King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match
You're welcome.
@technotreegrass
Speaking of Soulcalibur, someone from that universe should be in since Link was in theirs (they did a really good job with him too).
Nothing wrong with not knowing who Terry Bogard is. If you're under a certain age or just a casual gamer there's no reason for you to know. However, if that's the case all it takes is a quick Google search to see that Terry Bogard is a fighting game legend and definitely deserves his place in Smash. Those Tweets are an embarrassment, overly dramatic people like that get on my wick to no end.
@Kalmaro Fatal Fury and King of Fighters have been on every home console going, including the Switch.
@LUIGITORNADO He’s Smash Bros acknowledgment of SNK and NeoGeo. And they do deserve to be acknowledged.
@Bass_X0 Awesome. As I never went to play the game as a kid in the arcades, I did not even know the games existed on any other platform.
I have no history with the character.
I consider myself lucky being born in the 80s and experiencing video games from the 8 bit systems onwards
was he in sonic all stars racing?
@Ralizah you have a lot to catch up on then.
@BKPyrexx why would you think he was?
As others have pointed out, there's nothing wrong with not knowing the character. The problem is the assumptions some people make that it's an obscure character that doesn't belong in the game, just because they don't know. I preferred SNK's fighting games to Capcom's, so I'm familiar with some of the games and I love Terry. It's good to see him included. While SNK's fighting games may not have been huge in some regions outside of Japan, or at least as popular as Street Fighter, my understanding is that King of Fighters was reasonably popular in Japan.
Remember when no one outside of Japan knew what Fire Emblem was?
I just hope this means we’ll get the new KoF game on Switch.
In my area at least, there were always a handful more well known fighting series. Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Killer Instinct, Soul Calibur, Tekken, Virtua Fighter. I've spent a ton of time gaming (even 90s arcades) and only barely knew of this guy. NeoGeo, SNK, Fatal Fury weren't exactly household names to anyone I know. They were known to exist, and it was just referred to (perhaps unjustly) as "Street Fighter knockoff". That's it.
More recently, with all the NeoGeo Switch ports? "Just another NeoGeo fighter, do they really need this many?"
Admittedly, I'm not as big of a fan of KOF compared to Smash, Street Fighter, or Mortal Kombat, but I'm still excited to play as Terry. It saddens me that people are bashing him as a "omg irrelevant!" inclusion. This is probably coming from the same people who want Geno (even though I'm not against him).
I don’t have a problem with this. Maybe it’s more obscure than Marth and Roy felt back in Smash Melee, but it’s a similar situation: sort of obscure for Western audiences, but could become a sleeper hit.
@onlyonemello He’s hardly an obscure character, and he’s not a Japanese or arcade exclusive character either. Terry has been in countless releases across all consoles over the past 28 years. Including several Switch games already.
Some numbers for your perspective:
Terry Bogard has featured in at least 46 separate Nintendo releases, starting with his original game Fatal Fury: King of Fighters on the SNES in 1991 and a port of Fatal Fury 2 on the Game Boy.
In comparison, Mortal Kombat has only 20 different Nintendo releases, Samurai Shodown has 16, Killer Instinct has 5, Tekken has only 3, and Soul Calibur unfortunately has only 2.
@Paraka Just wanted to clarify, Rock is Geese’s son. In an earlier post you said he was Terry’s brother. Andy is Terry’s brother and Terry adopts Rock as his son. I just wanted to fix that, not trying to be rude. I love that Terry is in Smash! The King of Fighters is my favorite fighting game series of all time!!! I was hoping it was going to be Kyo, but Terry is equally deserving of the spot. I bought a lot of Neo Geo titles on Switch (in particular i bought all the Fatal Furies, all the KOF’s and all the Samurai Shodowns) this is a fantastic inclusion and i wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you don't know who is Terry... BETTER CHANGE YOUR HOBBY.... My son know who is Terry... And he is 5yo
@graysoncharles if you have a passion... I think you want to know even the history of your passion... And also... Terry is Not a retro game hero... King of fighters 14 is a ps4 game for example...
@locky-mavo Do you mean the one in development with no set release date or KoF14? If you mean 14, then SNK have already said that is coming to Switch.
@MotionMan - Crosswired the names, my intent was still the same. That's totes my bad.
Fatal Fury is way before my time, but I enjoy characters I know nothing about beforehand, and I acknowledge SNK’s importance to gaming as a whole, so I’m fine with Terry.
But that’s it. I’m just fine.
I’d really like a character that gets me incredibly excited! If I had my way, Sans would’ve been Challenger Pack #4 and Terry would’ve been a Mii Fighter costume. But you take what you can get, and I’m happy with what I’ve got.
@graysoncharles No, just the main ones. Mario, sonic, pac man, ryu simon belmont and yes, terry. And if you don't, that's okay. What is not okay is to pretend like not knowing who sonic is entitles you to tweet "what the f*** is this obscure character doing in my smash?". That's the discussion here.
@Kalmaro If anything those people tweeting are the ones acting superior
Some of them are clearly calling him a "nothing" character that "isn't worthy" of being in Smash
You know how cringey that sounds to people who are old enough to know full well that he's worthy enough, and an iconic character?
Well that's embarrassing, my 12 year old nephew knows who Terry Bogard is, and he was excited when he was announced as a character for Smash, and he has never played a SNK game before!
Good thing I still have my copy of Capcom VS SNK 2. I'm the best uncle ever
EDIT: Also KOF over Street Fighter any day
If they added Ryu from Breath of Fire a lot of people would not know much about him I bet, although he's obviously huge for RPG fans. Or Andy from Advance Wars, many people would know him maybe by sight but not have a ton of experience with him.
I recognized Terry and have played king of fighters before but not a ton because I'm not a huge fighting game fan.
When I first saw the article title, I honestly thought "Does Terry really need presentation??" And then I read those tweets and, Oh boy! Where am I??!
I'm not big on any classic fighting games, even though I grew in the SNES era, but it strikes me as shocking some gamers wouldn't know Terry all the while knowing Ryu. There are new KoF and SF games coming out all the time. Maybe because Terry isn't the "main character" of KoF? I guess younger gamers could be forgiven for not remembering Fatal Fury, but still...
Hmm, I know of Terry, but I suspect most people who haven't played many traditional fighting games wouldn't know who he was
I kinda wish they chose a more secondary character from SNK, like Blue Mary or Athena, it's always the main character of the series (which if it's a JRPG, usually means they're a swordsman). He looks pretty similar to Ken, so a more visually different character would have been nice, but eh, I don't follow SNK. If he's more popular in the SNK world and to SNK fans, so be it.
Similarly though, if Virtua Fighter ever got in, I wouldn't want Akira, he's waay too similar looking to Ryu (and...does Akira really have a personality?). Though I guess playstyle/moveset counts more in the end.
So this is how, say, Pokemon fans feel like when people like me have no idea about any of the games.... Feels bad
In all seriousness that SNK "invitation" segment was one of the coolest fighting game trailers I've ever seen. Brought back a lot of memories. I'd wish his stage was his classic train stage from FF2, but I understand why they're going with the KOF style stage.
@jobvd Agreed, though I was more pointing out it's standing in the handheld scene. Back when the Gameboy had only just discovered colour, the NeoGeo Pocket Color was running a game which in my opinion held up to many console fighters of the day (in gameplay, not graphics).
@Doktor-Mandrake The tweets are bad, but I'm focused on what the people here are saying. I haven't seen any comments talking trash about the character yet. I may have just overlooked them.
Instead, folks here are just being mean to people who never had the chance to play the games. That's what I'm concerned about.
@1UP_MARIO BUSTA WOLF!!
(I don't know what that is plz help)
The reality is there are no wasted slots because it's ultimately up to Sakurai and his team to decide who goes in amongst a staggering number of possible characters. They already know what the community wants, ad nauseum (i.e. Goku, etc.). Who we get in the end may not be known to everyone, but that character definitely did not come from "nowhere" and already has a sizable fan base to be considered for Smash (Joker, Hero, B&K, Terry, and all the Smash pre-release reveals). More often than not, fan bases might not overlap. And that's fine. But with Smash, at least they'll be introduced to new players who are open-minded to give them a shot and may even like them enough to check out the games they originally came from. That's something I that believe is Sakurai's main goal to accomplish with Smash.
Anyone who doesn't know who Terry Bogard is either not a gamer, a very, very casual gamer, or really young. Like come on, I know people who have never even touched a Neo Geo or a KoF game and they know who this guy is. He's one of the most popular Fatal Fury/KoF characters. I'm less annoyed by that fact and more annoyed that these ignorant people are trashing a character they are in fact ignorant of. "Who asked for this"? Uh I don't know, maybe the millions of King of Fighters and Fatal Fury fans around the world? People have been asking for Terry Bogard ever since Ryu made it in. It's one thing to not know who he is, it's another to bash the character's inclusion over YOUR own ignorance. Like holy crap I can't even wrap my head around that. Surely Nintendolife cherry picked the stupidest possible tweets and such right? I can only hope that's the case.
That aside, this is a dope announcement and I loved the part where Geese is reaching for the invitation and loses it. Hopefully this is the shot in the arm the KoF and Fatal Fury franchise needs.
Who calls themselves a gamer and doesn't know who Terry freaking Bogard is?
To those of you who are saying you never heard of or played any game Terry has been in, guess what!!! You can download a bunch of games on the Switch right now! King of Fighters 98, King of Fighters 2000, Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Real Bout Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury 3 are all on the Switch and are some of the best fighting games ever made!
Man I feel old! All those kiddos who don’t know one of Gamings legends. Yes kids gaming started before 2000.
He looks really cool, can't wait to try him out! (And what I've read he's really big in south America, so that's really awesome too!!)
Personally think that kids have so much information these days which has actually made them more ignorant to things! Pre 80s to the 90s and 2000 most kids were clued up on everything going in some shape or form, so I think it’s a case of so much content, maybe too much?
“WTF is Terry Bogard?”
These kids don’t know Shiz! Fatal Fury is one of the cornerstones of 16-bit fighting games, à la Street Fighter II.
Sakurai is an Artist! He is not just going to put some pleb in the roster of his greatest work; a celebration of video game history!
Joking rants aside, really happy that Terry has been included. I am further excited that there is still one more to go and the have announced even MORE! The sky is the limit.
Wow the amount of FAKE gamers here is unreal. Terry has been a fighting game legend for over 20 years now. Even my kids know who he is. All kids care about nowadays is Pokemon, Fortnite and Minecraft. Sad generation of gamers.
I love this announcement. All of the Fatal Fury games are on the Switch and you should play them.
I have had several friends respond to my “Terry Bogard in SMASH!!!” texts with “Who?” today and it has made me want to cry.
I guess we Americans were so MK / SF addicted that we criminally ignored the probably superior Fatal Fury series (and, in so doing, also missed out on arguably the greatest arcade fighter of all time in Garou). Still makes me sad.
@Spudtendo WRONG!! You obviously don't watch esports . He is in KOF 14 which is out now on PS4 and Fighting EX Layer. those are some big time games. Some of you guys have got to STOP calling yourself gamers...uhh
@graysoncharles
I'm not saying you should know every character to ever grace a videogame, but if you don't know who Terry Bogard is, and you're 25 or older, you need your games card revoked and burned.
Sorry if you're offended, but Terry is an icon for SNK just like Ryu is for Capcom.
🤷♂️
Mai Shiranui would've been a better choice. She's far more popular (at least in this guys book and anyone who says anything otherwise is WRONG!).
Being able to have a Capcom VS SNK fight in SSBs is amazing. Can only hope they bring the last KoFs over to Switch.
At first I was kinda bummed when the leak about Terry was confirmed, but now that more DLC characters are in development I can let it slide.
The SNK fighting games were also ported to Genesis and SNES back in the day. Given that Nintendo is the sole survivor and top thriver of classical gaming, unlike Sega and SNK systems, some connections can be seen here as to why Terry had to come to Nintendo and Smash, but it does not stop there. I even read that Sakurai was inspired by King of Fighters to make Smash Bros. Yes, he played SNK fighting games before and was competent.
So the best way to describe this is its another Sakurai pick, like with Persona 5 Joker, but also has some historical connections.
@Kalmaro It is kinda weird, that he's literally in about 50 (that's not an exagerated number) more games, than there are Smash games. He's in a bunch of movies and anime series as well. He has merch up the wazoo. This is like his 5th cross over in a fighting game....
And Smash players, that claim Smash is a fighting game, and that Smash is part of the FGC, are like "Who's this guy".
It's very funny actually. It's like a Twilight Zone episode.
The arrogance of many people here, saying stuff like, "if you don't know who he is, you're not a gamer," is just appalling. I didn't realise you all knew every single game character in every game ever made.
Okay, I knew who he was because I'm a gaming nerd and have read articles about Fatal Fury, but to people asking how people don't know about one of the most famous '90s arcade games and characters, here's a little perspective. Remember that I was born in '96 and am in my mid 20s with a job that makes me wear a shirt and tie. Anyone born in the '90s is at least turning 20 soon and someone born in 1990 would be almost 30. There's a lot of people who are adults now who weren't old enough to be going to a lot of arcades when Fatal Fury was most popular.
To put it another way, I'm an adult and if you were a '90s kid, as in "was in the formative years of one's youth in the '90s," I actually took history classes in college that covered your childhood. Of course lots of people don't know characters from games on a dead system that was popular when they were toddlers.
@Tim_Vreeland I wouldn't say it's that strange. He exists in one niche for the most part, fighting games.
Smash pulls in people from pretty much all genres because it it's so accessible and has characters from so many different types of games.
Then there's the fact that street fighter is so popular stateside, that and mortal combat are practically cultural icons in America. You see them referenced everywhere. We even have family guy making fun of street fighter. Disner even had Ken and Ryu in their wreck-it-Ralph movie.
Fatal fury gets very little mention outside of its niche.
hey. want to cringe? check this reply section.
https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1169374098897526784
nintendo fans are so lame holy crap. i’m so glad we’re never having another ballot.
I'm well over 25 (;_;) and this is the first Smash character that I'd literally never heard of before. But then Smash is one of the few fighting games I've ever paid any attention to so that's not too surprising.
I can understand why people might feel a bit put out at a complete stranger (to them) being added to the roster but there's no denying his place in history and it's silly to say he doesn't belong just because you don't know him. A lot of people are obviously very happy with this so I'm happy for them.
One thing I love about Smash is it has encouraged me to check out the history of characters I might not have looked into otherwise.
I have to say that a lot of the "real gamer" comments are as bad as the tweets in the article.. I'm rolling my eyes at both extremes here.
(side note: I know who Sans is but can't stand him and didn't really like Undertale so not knowing who Terry is doesn't automatically mean someone is an Undertale fan)
@Shiryu Evil Abed 😍
My history with Terry, Fatal Fury, and KoF is way more passive than my history with fighters from Capcom or Arcsys, but you know what? I know him, I know his history, and I nabbed KoF 98, Fatal Fury, and Garou Mark of the Wolves on E-shop. If anything, for how many people may complain about Terry, it’ll also get more people to try something they haven’t, and the same seems to be happening with DQ and Hero. Hope more people that don’t know the characters look at it that way.
@Dodger so much this! I was born in the ‘90s and I’m a big fan of gaming history so i know who he is, but ai’ve never been able to play any of his games cause I was simply too young when the last Fatal Fury came out.
And yeah, I know who he is and have known for half of my life at least, but I don’t think he’s that iconic to begin with. I understand wanting more software houses on board, but to be honest SNK was never my first pick. But then again, I was too young when Neo Geo was a thing.
@Paraka it’s so funny, cause “mai” in Italian means “never” 😂😂😂
@BionicDodo
I had no idea KoF14 was announced for Switch. Shows how much I’ve been paying attention, though in my defence, there has been a lot of games announced for the Switch. But also getting the one in development would be sweet too.
Even though I wasn’t around during the Neo Geo arcade days, I have heard of Terry and Fatal Fury before. I played a Fatal Fury game at some pizza place(forgot the name of it) and bought a few Fatal Fury games on the Wii Shop Channel, and the Eshop. But i’m pretty happy to see Terry in Smash. He’s a pretty cool character, so I can’t wait to try him out.
@clvr - Hey, the more you know.
@Sakuraichu - I gotta say, the comments about the FGC and Smash are pretty spot on. Especially when they point out what took Melee's slot was an SNK game. The lack of education over your own community that gets praised is aweful.
But those memes, juicy.
Honestly, never heard of him before. I’m not saying he was a bad choice, but the amount of people my age (born more recently) who don’t know who he is should tell you how much relevance he has in today’s gaming market.
I don't know much about KoF or this Berry Togard guy, but I sure do like that new Red Hat Marth guy.
at least nintendo assured us there be more characters inbound for smash ultimate hoping we get doom slayer,mythra with rex,ryu and momiji from ninja gaiden and many more.
The new Smash Ultimate DLC is for the big boys. Well, the young ones should love him too.
Ha...my 18 year old son (who loves Super Smash) came up to me and said "Dad, who's Terry Bogard?" I said, "We're playing KoF later."
It's funny all these people reacting like we didn't already know an SNK character was coming, and had time to do some research. Personally I've never heard of him and I'm not familiar with his game although I've heard of it. But there have been so many obscure characters in Smash over the years. How many people who started gaming with the Xbox generation would've heard of Duck Hunt? Just embrace yet another historic piece of gaming's rich tapestry joining the ranks.
Ok SNK , this would be the perfect time to announce a physical Fatal Fury collection for Switch like u did with Samurai Shodown. Just put the 6 Hamster digital game on it and you're set to launch on the day Terry arrives on Smash.
Oops I meant all 7 or 8 Fatal fury games .I forgot about the Special version for normal Fatal fury and the one for Real Bout
Smash has an SNK, a Capcom, and a Final Fantasy character and is developed by Namco. Tekken has an SNK, a Capcom, and a Final Fantasy character and is developed by Namco.
Captain Falcon in Tekken? A playable Tekken character in Smash? Both games still have characters in development so I'm incredibly excited at the possibilities. The fact Sakurai is one of the only Nintendo employees involved with the development of Ultimate really has me excited at the implications.
@Bass_X0 I understand what you’re saying and sorry I assumed he wasn’t Western created. That being said, I don’t want to diminish Terry across gaming’s history, but the fact that we (as in, the gaming community) are having this discussion and debate about the character in Smash really says all we need to know about how relevant Terry currently is.
Garou: Mark of the Wolves was a fantastic note to end on though. I was glad to see Terry show up... even if I always liked Andy better, haha
My child knew who terry is because of me playing FF/KOF regularly still. He has to argue to the other kids (“how can you not know who Terry is ??”) i think its kinda hopeless. As all other kids immediately arguing that Sans should have been the main addition. (To which i said “who?”)
I had no clue who this guy was either, and I'm 32. But then I was never into fighting games at all (except Smash.) I know we already have two Street Fighter characters, but I'd love to see Chun Li.
The female version would be a cool alt, but I hope they'd be a bit more... subtle with the outfit.
If you're explaining, you're losing.
@DJKeens while this is true to some degree (that Capcom always ahead) it depends on the location, in Latin America KoF was argubly waaaay more popular and intense than SF...
you could say USA got banjo, Japan got the Hero and latinamerica got Terry XD
Not a huge King of Fighters fan, but I'm pleased with this news. Just yesterday I was thinking when will Heihachi Mishima come to Smash
@graysoncharles
People not knowing who Joker or lolSans are is not on the same level of Terry Bogard his respective games that helped bring fighters to the forefront of gaming.
You need to reevaluate what you're saying and learn some video game history.
Granted, if you're under 25, I don't expect you to know what came before you and why Terry in Smash is important anyways.
I wanted Geese Howard. I always loved his baggy pants haha
@Paraka Younger people don’t know the past and it seems they don’t even want to. Not an article, few words were needed: “You have one thing our generation could barely dream of where we were young, YouTube! Go, study the recent past of gaming.”
For all the people saying, "If you're X age and don't know who Terry is then..."
I'm 35 years old, live in Canada. My first console was in the second grade, it was a SNES. I played Mario 1, 2, and 3 on friends' NES consoles. I played Sonic games on friends' Genesis consoles (also on the one in the hospital when I shattered my femur, but don't worry I'm Canadian so it didn't bankrupt our family.)
I played a ton of games growing up, mostly stuck to Nintendo consoles. We didn't really have arcades here, I remember watching the demo screens for Marvel Vs. Capcom when I visited West Edmonton Mall as a kid. I remember at a roller rink we used to go to when I was in the seventh grade, there was a game that had fighting characters in it that Morrigan in it, but I don't remember which game that was. There was also a Simpsons arcade game.
But just because you had an arcade to go to to regularly spend quarters, doesn't mean that everyone who was the same age as you had that experience. First time I heard about Terry was when they gender swapped them for SNK's all female fighting game on the Switch. I'm not angry or especially unhappy about him. (Probably wouldn't have bought him if he wasn't part of the fighter's pass that I've already paid for.) But that doesn't make me, "not a real gamer." It means I was more interested in other games and never got into that genre, and that's okay.
@locky-mavo I'm not sure it was publicly announced, but there was a photo of an SNK presentation that had the Nintendo logo next to KoF14 and Samurai Shodown (and that one worked out). I'd like to think that we can take the prescense of Terry in Smash as a sign that the two companies are on good terms.
In the meantime, I'd appreciate someone finding a way to port XI to Switch.
@Damo
This is a very comprehensive work! Well done, Damien!
I have actually been in the age of Fatal Fury series right from the start, but I didn't know a whole bunch of games Terry was in until you made this. Thank you very much for the info.
You may find this funny perhaps, but I wasn't aware that Terry made into SNK Heroines! And the fact that he gender swapped too! I thought the SNK Heroines was just going to features all the usual girls, Mai, King, Athena, Yuri, etc.... just not Terry.... lol
I find it funny how many people think themselves as superiors for knowing him.
I knew him only by image because I couldn't care less for fatal fury or kof. And still I do take my smash and gaming as serious as most here. I was born in time for arcades, but didn't care for "my time" fighters.
Also, good post, really informative.
@siebenzehn No problem!
@ShinyUmbreon Only he isn't.
@Nin10Doe tbh Minecraft is a better game than KoF soooo......
perhaps you're the sad one?
@Nin10Doe So because we don't play some random fighting game franchise no one cares about were not gamers? Because I disagree.
I'm happy Terry got into smash, I didn't know who he was but I knew I'd seen him before.
@JuiceMan_V Yea but no one cares about SNK except for 30-year-old fighting game fans who went to the arcade.
@DK-Fan Wow you are so cool. I wish I knew him too, so I could be as cool as you.
Ive never heard of terry or snk until the direct yesterday
@Coolguy5000 Uh random fighting game? THIS is what I mean. You called KOF a random fighting game. Arcades back in the day were places REAL gamers went after school. You are NOT a real gamer. Also the fact that you said Minecraft is a better game. Something tells me you're 11- 12 year old kid. Go ask your daddy about real gaming son. 😂 Bye the way he is always on some Esports tournament streaming so you booger nosed kids don't have an excuse.
@Baker1000 @Kanbei I agree with everything you said but once again I tell everyone that every single character from super smash bro's is not obscure . @graysoncharles I know who Hero is. I've been playing DQ since you were pooping your diapers kid. This SANS crap has to stop though.
Although I do not deny that Terry has a lot of history in the fighting games and being one of the most famous characters in SNK; For me, Athena deserved to have that place in smash, especially for the fact of her story also in SNK, and she has a little more time than Terry and above all, her fame, however, is true, only she appeared in 2 of her own games (Athena and Psyco Soldier) and the rest of his appearances has been in Spin offs as The King of Fighter.
However, I do not discredit Terry and his career, so his appearance in Smash is well deserved; Well, I hope Athena can do it in the new characters that will be added later after these 5.
Unfortunately the Neo Geo wasn't terribly popular in North America, and although I am old enough to remember it, I am also old enough to remember it as sort of a "flop" here stateside. Consoles sat in stores and I knew nobody who bought one. Within a few years they weren't anywhere to be found... Now with the recent popularity of retro games of course I've seen retro consoles touting Neo Geo games, but from this angle I don't even know these games. I am one of the people who yelled at the screen, "Who?" when Terry was announced. Maybe that's why many people don't know him. Thanks for the education!
Who doesn't know Terry Bogard lol.....wait...what???
@Paraka People aren't ignorant for not knowing who Terry Bogard is. He's an old character who isn't really popular in North America. So of COURSE people are going to be mad that he's in the game. Having a character you don't know about at all making it in rather than someone you always wanted is upsetting. Even though I do think you should learn about a character before you hate on them.
@Nin10Doe My dad is like 55 but okay, anyway I'm not 11 or 12, and KOF just seems to be a typical fighting game. It's not very interesting. I went and played some of the earlier ones, no wonder it's so niche today. Only people who grew up with it care about it. I'd hate to be you, it doesn't seem to be fun going around insulting people and saying they're not "real gamers" because they don't play the same old irrelevant games you do.
@Coolguy5000 The fact that you said the SNK KOF games are irrelevant speaks volumes that you are not a REAL gamer. You may not be 11-12 but I bet you are still some young punk. I've been gaming since 1989 on all consoles and platforms. So I have the resume to back up. The nerve of you entitled little brats. Put some respect of the name of SNK.
I bet you're the only "REAL gamer" in the universe.
@Paraka
Gods, it's sad isnt it ?
@JasonF
More to the world then just North America.
Long Live Terry Bogard, he is massive in South America
I grew up in the 90s and didn't know anything about Fatal Fury/King of Fighters. In the US, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Tekken were the fighting games of choice, atleast on the east coast. I wonder how many people actually grew up playing this game or they had to go out of their way to play it.
@DanteSolablood I didnt know who Mai was but I do now and I also now agree with you 😮😂
@Roam85 Strongly agree. I was familiar with Fatal Fury, but had only played it in arcades / friends' houses a few times. My first real exposure to the franchise's rich cast of characters came when I was a teenager playing the (excellent) Capcom v. SNK 2, but for whatever reason I didn't pick up more titles back then. Having so many of the titles (maybe all of them?) available on Switch has been fantastic. Garou may well be the best traditional fighter I have ever played.
It really must be an age thing not knowing Terry Bogard.
Granted, I wasn't overly familiar with the character until Dreamcast got a slew of SNK-related games.
Don't even get me started on the day my Japanese import of Capcom vs. SNK fell of my desk and got a small dent in the disc making it entirely unplayable.
Terry is an excellent choice for the game. Iconic for his era and a fighting game mainstay.
I can kind of understand younger folks not knowing who he is, but anyone over 25 not knowing him is very disappointing.
I'm glad they aren't including the female alternate, because I see that as nothing more than a one-off attention grabber for a game built on virtue signalling, but couldn't do it without his inclusion.
Counterpoint: Who the hell are Banjo and Kazooie?
@Paraka WHO TF IS TERRY!?!?!?
@SuperWeird bro you're being really cringe
@carlos82 Are you over 60 years old? cuz you're sounding like a boomer
@DK-Fan :I Cringe
@CerberusAzdin Seriously though, who's terry
@JoeBama no I'm not over 60, do you have your parents permission to use the Wifi?
Sakurai points out in the video that Fatal Fury wasn't an "attempt to muscle in on the popularity of Street Fighter II". Do your research.
I can't believe some people need an explanation of who Terry Bogard is. That's sad! Maybe Fatal Fury has been gone for a while, but The King of Fighters has been alive for quite some years now, so Terry is no stranger In fighting games at all. I'm really happy to have him in Smash. It's a worthy and unexpected addition, Nintendo and Sakurai just keep surprising me more and more, I don't know what to expect about Smash bros anymore, and that's exciting!
@Paraka the article didn't even mention features: command input, weak/strong versions of moves, and 50 songs in the DLC. I get it's background info, but still, once I saw smash bros dlc, I expected to find that info without having to skip through the vid. It's an easy must buy, especially if you saw the kirby version and ice climbers glitch.
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